Last night was MITB and tonight we start the road to Summerslam. Miz is Mr. Money in the Bank so we have a new era in the company. I’m excited for this so let’s get to it.

Barrett vs. Henry tonight which is his non-NXT debut I believe.

Randy Orton vs. Edge vs. Chris Jericho

Winner gets the title shot at Summerslam so I can’t imagine this isn’t Orton winning. Orton wants his 7th world title, Jericho wants his 7th and Edge wants his 10th. That sound like overkill to anyone else? Edge and Jericho double team Orton to start as you would expect. This isn’t much of a triple threat as it’s really basic without much flare to it at all.

The Canadian violence breaks out as we go to a break. Back and Jericho gets the elevated DDT for two. This just isn’t that good but I’m surprised that it’s opening the show and that we’re not going to get this as the main event. Orton builds momentum and hits that snap powerslam. Walls on Orton and of course that doesn’t work as Edge saves with Edgecution. Two guys in this use DDTs on occasion, making them both awesome.

Spear is countered into the Walls. Edge reaches for ropes on both sides and looks like he’s trying to fly. He gets the ropes and a rollup for two. We get two cool spots in a row: Orton rolls up Jericho but Edge rolls up Orton off the initial rollup. We also get a triple clothesline. RKO misses into a missed Lionsault and Jericho’s taped arm is hurt. RKO to both guys lets him pin Edge to go to Summerslam. I’m sure he wouldn’t have gone at all otherwise.

Back from break and Edge is still in the ring, wanting more of Jericho. Edge says this has been going on far too long and Jericho implies he has Nexus behind him as he is responsible for their success. Edge says he could have Nexus behind him if he wanted them. AND HERE THEY COME. It doesn’t have the same impact when they have music to come down to. Tarver is holding his head after that step show last night. Young appears to either have a bowl cut or is wearing a hat.

Barrett says that they’d be lucky to have either Canadian as an ally and they circle Edge. The beatdown is on and of course soon afterwards they beat down Jericho too. Otunga hits his finisher on him and both Canadians are out. Barrett yells at Jericho that he didn’t teach Barrett a thing.

Josh stops Barrett as they’re heading into their locker room. Josh says Nexus is the strongest group in WWE history. Barrett says he’s going to beat Henry tonight. Sheamus comes up to him and says he’ll be waiting outside the locker room. That was odd.

Cole interviews Cena who is in the back. Cena says no one can stop Sheamus, which I’m thinking leads to a heel turn for him. Tonight, he wants to meet Barrett and Nexus in the middle of the ring to say something to them. He heavily implies he’s going to join them.

Maryse vs. Eve Torres

Eve looks good in those gold shorts. This is like a minute long and DiBiase is on commentary. Eve gets a nice kick for the pin but Maryse’s feet are on the ropes. John Morrison comes down after being bashed on commentary and beats him up, hitting a Starship Pain headbutt. WOW that was awful looking.

Here’s Sheamus to talk I’d guess. He says he’s awesome and claims that he demanded a truce with Barrett and Nexus. He declares his dominance and here’s the Miz. Mr. Money in the Bank says Sheamus now has a Miz problem because he controls the fate of the title due to the case. He talks about how it could happen at anytime and that it could be tonight, next week or even at Mania. He is just oozing confidence here and it’s coming off great.

Sheamus cuts off the catchphrase and we get an e-mail. If Miz wants to cash in tonight he should sit down at ringside because it’s Sheamus vs. Bourne right now.

Sheamus vs. Evan Bourne

Bourne seems to miss his cue but it makes sense as he’s finishing getting his tights ready. That if nothing else makes it seem like this was rushed which is a very nice touch. Back from a break and it’s pretty back and forth. Wow Bourne has credibility already. Sheamus wraps him around the post and just pulls which looks awesome. He dominates for awhile but here’s Bourne’s comeback.

He hits a bunch of kicks which is the main thing he can do. Irish Curse is countered into a sunset flip as Miz is getting antsy in a nice touch. Bourne sets for the Shooting Star but Bourne hits a sweet dive to take him down. Sheamus gets a kick to the ropes to low blow Bourne and the Pump Kick ends it. It’s the Brogue Kick now I guess.

Miz with a briefcase shot to the back! And another! SKULL CRUSHING FINALE TO THE CASE! HE CASHES IN! Sheamus allegedly has to be conscious to start the match but he’s out cold. This is a new development apparently. And here comes R-Truth! Miz grabs the case back and swings for Truth and the fight is on. Cole points out something very important: the bell never rang so that match never started. Kind of bullshit but it does the job they need and it gives the feeling of it could happen anytime.

Miz is PISSED about not winning because he got robbed. He says he has a year left though.

We do a Summerslam recall back to 1998, which was the closest thing to Summerslam being as big as Wrestlemania ever. The clip is Austin vs. Taker which is nowhere near the best match on the card. Rock vs. HHH in a ladder match is one of my all time favorites.

Sheamus has a bag of ice on his head and yells at the Divas for laughing at something unrelated. Orton comes up and says he’ll hit the RKO at Summerslam.

William Regal/Zach Ryder vs. Santino Marella/Vladimir Kozlov

Look up “match so that the crowd can breathe” in the dictionary….and you likely won’t find anything. This is one of those though. This is a comedy match if there has ever been one. We hear about the 900th episode of Raw coming up which has to be a big old party right? Imagine the 1000th episode. There better be a big gimmick match. In case you can’t tell, this match isn’t much and I don’t want to talk about it. Kozlov beats up Ryder and Santino wants the win. He does the salute headbutt and gets the pin.

Wade Barrett vs. Mark Henry

Nexus is barred from ringside. Barrett hides for a bit in classic heel fashion. Barrett looks like a legit main event guy which is awesome. Henry dominates for a bit and sets for a second rope splash but Nexus is on the stage. He pauses long enough for Barrett to hit the front slam finisher which needs a name. Apparently it’s called The Wasteland. That ends it despite him almost falling over from the weight. He still made it look workable though.

During a break we’re told that there’s one more NXT before eliminations begin. We were told this earlier but I forgot how many weeks they said so I didn’t write it. There’s your answer.

Tarver blames everything on Cena and here’s the non-champ. If he turns, the IWC will explode. He says he’s going to do something he should have a long time ago and wants a truce. Barrett says no, which is great for Cena in something I’ll cover at the end. Actually screw the waiting. It makes Cena look mortal as he wants mercy but doesn’t get it. He looks weak because he went there but doesn’t have the out he thought he had.

Barrett doesn’t want a truce. He wants Cena to join. Well that would be better than what I just described. Barrett says he’ll get ten times what he’s had before with Nexus, which is what, NINETY WORLD TITLES? Cena shake his head and says he can’t do it. Barrett says he can get his ass kicked or leave with his tail between his legs. He walks away a la Mick Foley with Orton in I think 05.

Cena promises to take them down whether alone or with help. He says he has help and it’s going to take down Nexus at Summerslam. The team is here tonight and it’s Edge, Morrison, R-Truth (who has WHAT connection here?), Khali (damn it), Jericho and BRET HART??? They storm the ring and Nexus sprints away.

Raw got a 3.4, which is up from last week. The most interesting part is that the first hour was a 3.09 and the second hour was a 3.68 which is a HUGE upswing for the second hour. Apparently Cena and the Nexus still are huge draws.

We open up with the VIP Lounge where MVP is serious and the guest is Watson of course. He apologizes and MVP says it’s water under the bridge. Matt Striker comes out (complete with theme music) and says that we should hear about why he should be the #1 rookie next week. He doesn’t get to finish as Striker cuts him off before the catchphrase.

Harris and Rhodes come out and says that Harris may not look like a traditional wrestler but he’s awesome. It’s better than it sounds, but Harris stumbles over his lines. Tag match next I’m guessing. Somehow this took ten minutes.

Back and we look at Lucky Cannon. He’s 6’5? Never would have guessed that. I still can’t stand this guy but whatever.

Percy Watson/MVP vs. Husky Harris/Cody Rhodes

The rookies start us off and Watson is a bit more subdued here. There’s an obstacle course later and the winner gets immunity. Watson has his glasses off here and it helps him a lot. Rhodes’ shoes are kind of weird looking here but he’s not in long enough for them to mean much. Watson has a SWEET dropkick. We get a short pull apart brawl on the floor and go to a break.

After a long break, this match is still pretty bland. The pros come in and we wake up a bit. Cole is a heel here. Ballin to Rhodes. Harris hits his back splash on MVP for the pin. This just wasn’t interesting at all really.

We profile Michael McGillicutty who I’m a total mark for. This guy is just awesome on all levels despite looking a bit too much like Jamie Noble. They say he’s not charismatic and isn’t ruthless.

Cannon vs. Riley next and Cole is ELATED over Miz being out here for it too.

Alex Riley vs. Lucky Cannon

Cannon says he should stay because he’s having fun. Riley says that it’s not about whether you like him or not but rather about who is the best, and that’s why you should vote for Alex Riley. Damn good little promo. Miz says vote for Riley because the future WWE Champion told you to. Cole explains the case in case people don’t know. I get the idea of welcoming new viewers but DAMN give the fans a little credit dude. Riley hits his TKO (LOVE that move and always have) and ends this in maybe 45 seconds. Miz beats up Cannon after the match.

We hear from Cottonwood about why he should be #1. Morrison talks about being in an airport and a kid asking his mom who Cottonwood was. People want to see him and with more time and effort he could be the long term investment. He intimidates Striker into saying he would vote for Eli.

Laycool say that Kaval has everything he needs, including Laycool. Kaval says he has the confidence to go up against the greats in WWE including Orton, Rey and Bourne and if you want to see that, vote for him. Cole instantly declares this horrible.

Back from a break, Kofi says McGillicutty is the hungriest and was born to do this. He dubs them the McGillibuddies. I suddenly hate Kofi. Michael says he’s the perfect choice and the most talented.

We start the obstacle course with Michael. If you mess up on anything you have to go back and do it again. This is FAR shorter than last time. Michael gets 26.7.

Riley goes second and has to redo the balance beam, giving him a time of over 40 seconds. He argues with a referee afterwards. Damn his look is perfect.

Eli is third and this could be great. HE FREAKING JUMPS OVER ONE OF THE HURDLES. That looked GREAT. He keeps missing stuff and gets disqualified. I still don’t get what’s so bad about him but he really would have been better suited as a guy debuting rather than on NXT.

The crowd loudly boos Cannon and he doesn’t break the time, missing by about a second and a half.

Kaval is 5th and is FLYING. He does knuckle pushups too and freaking CRUSHES that dumpster at the end but is slower than Cannon actually.

Showtime is the penultimate and is pretty slow. He’s not bad but he’s taking his time which isn’t working. Nope he doesn’t win either.

Harris is last and I smell shenanigans. He has to knock over the last hurdle which is really big which is great. McGillicutty wins.

Well it’s the fallout from the ECW Invasion last week as I wonder if this is going to work or not. Last week’s show wasn’t all that bad. As the show hasn’t started yet, we have the previews of Joe vs. Hardy and Angle vs. Hernandez. Great to see that kick-ass TNA marketing team at work again. Show’s starting now so let’s get to it.

Abyss wants Jeff Hardy and did it for THEM. This segues into the big “riot” which was absolutely nothing special. Is I INVITED THEM supposed to be a big line now or something?

Global Championship: AJ Styles vs. Rob Terry

That robe is freaking idiotic looking. Also, AJ and Kaz get into this group when they win a match over guys that have never teamed together? Pretty obvious that Terry loses here. AJ dances over hitting a kick to the leg and hides from Terry while trying to have Kaz hold him back. This is already irritating.

Hogan and Bischoff aren’t here AGAIN. Terry kicks AJ in the face in one of his three moves. Styles tries to steal the title with a rollup and Kaz holds his foot down so AJ wins the title. This might have gone three minutes.

Sarita talks to Madison Rayne and the Beautiful People come in and don’t like the insults to Velvet. They think Sarita is the biker chick, despite her being about 6 inches shorter.

We see the agents getting yelled at by Dixie while they say they didn’t know what was going on. Can you stop the behind the scenes stuff please?

Angelina Love/Taylor Wilde vs. Madison Rayne/Sarita

Oh sorry thought the Knockouts tag champions might actually defend their titles. What was I thinking? Love is told to turn in the title since she cheated so she hands it and then jumps Rayne. Was that title change #4 in a row sans pin or submission? By the way, THIS is how you get multiple feuds on TV in the limited time you have. You have two feuds here being addressed at once which saves a lot of time.

Love hits her finisher to beat Rayne clean. The biker chick comes out with her DARK HELMET OF DEATH, proving it’s not Sarita. Velvet and Lacey come down the aisle, proving that the biker chick wasn’t one of them. Madison gets the belt and she and Sarita leave with the biker girl. Lacey leaves with them too as Velvet yells at her to come back.

The ECW guys are here. The lawsuit stuff over that could be interesting if it happens.

Hernandez vs. Kurt Angle

Angle continues his climb up the rankings and will quit if he loses. Taz makes an interesting question: what benefit do the guys Angle fights get? The problem becomes clear here as there’s no way Angle is going to lose. He hits the run up the ropes for the belly to belly which is always solid. The Rolling Germans begin and this is all Kurt so far.

Hernandez comes back with a modified Dominator which is a great power move that someone needs to use for a finisher. Mark Henry would be good for something like that. Angle gets out of the Border Toss and Angle Slam gets two. Tenay says there’s a select group of people that get out of the Slam. That group would be everyone. Ankle Lock and leg wrap gets the tap out. Longest match of the night so far at 6.5 minutes.

Nash comes out as Angle leaves and calls out Jarrett. After a break here’s the King of the Mountain with his bitching theme music. Nash says that Sting is cool but Jarrett wasn’t. They argue about who has screwed this company over or whatever and we talk about Hall and Waltman of course. Nash talks about Jarrett’s kids and this is already stupid. LEAVE REAL LIFE STUFF OUT OF WRESTLING.

Angle talks to Dixie who doesn’t need to be a TV character. They say something about ECW or whatever.

Samoa Joe vs. Jeff Hardy

Ten minute time limit here as we’re told this doesn’t come along every week. I do wonder what they’re going to do once they run out of FIRST TIME EVER matches. Hardy hits the floor as soon as the bell rings to slap hands with fans. And Eric is on the phone. Joe jumps him as Eric says they’ll be at TV next week. Well always good when your big names are actually on television.

Bischoff says nothing of note and the first two minutes of this match are all him talking. He more or less gives a promotional speech talking about how they support Dixie and so does Hulk. Thankfully they talk about the match. I’m glad they aren’t doing the WCW thing and talking nonstop about angles as it’s just disrespectful to the wrestlers.

Joe is completely dominating here as we get to hear a bit from Taz about his association with Joe from a few years ago. I’m glad they went with the face route for Taz as he was too popular to be a heel. Joe flips off the referee which is censored out. Yeah the ECW guys are going to get to be so EXTREME here. Joe hits a big boot (WHAT IS WITH SO MANY PEOPLE USING THAT LATELY???) and back splash for two.

The fat man puts on an STF and then a crossface. This has been ALL Joe. The crossface is over Hardy’s forehead though which is a weird look. He signals for the Musclebuster which is either a great name or not that good. Twist of Fate misses and Joe almost gets the choke. Whisper in the Wind hits and we’re clearly going to the time limit here. They slug it out to get to the draw.

Dixie tells Jarrett to tell the boys that there’s a good thing coming. She’s the President and can’t tell them herself?

Anderson vs. Morgan next.

Oh I forgot about the Beer Money vs. MCMG match. That’s tonight too.

Matt Morgan vs. Mr. Anderson

I’m shocked: a match that actually follows continuity with storylines. Tazz makes vintage jokes because we can poke fun at WWE and they don’t fight back so WE WIN! There’s something missing from this match and I’m not sure what it is. After getting destroyed the whole time, Morgan misses a discus lariat and takes the Mic Check for the pin. He busts Anderson open with the mic afterwards.

Beer Money vs. Motor City Machine Guns

This one is a street fight so the heels are in jeans. It’s match #2 in their series which is best of five. This is a big mess and we start on the floor as we should. Shelley hits a SICK ramp long running dropkick to Storm that even made my jaw hang open a bit. Chair shots take over for the challengers (is this series for the titles or just pride?) which lasts a little while.

FINALLY we hear that this is for the belts. Why do I have a bad feeling the Guns will wind up losing them? A springboard Van Daminator gets two on Roode. We hear a great bit bump but we don’t see it at all so I have no idea what it is. Spinebuster gets two on Sabin. Down goes the referee of course. The Guns hit a double team move but there’s no referee. Beer Bottle to the head and the referee revives in time to end it as the Guns lose AGAIN.

Team 3D argues about the ECW guys with Bubba being on TNA’s side, saying they have nothing left to prove with the ECW guys which is absolutely true.

RVD is happy to be here and doesn’t know what to think about everything that’s going on. He and Christy have some weird chemistry.

We recap the ECW guys invading and the big ordeal last week. Dixie is coming to the ring.

She comes out to some bad woman singing and praises the fans. She says all the fans have been asking her for the hardcore wrestling which I’ve never heard of but whatever. Here are the ECW guys as we get the fans to chant for another company. She talks about how great ECW was (seriously does she know a damn thing about wrestling?) and says how these guys were like Hulk Hogan to ECW in the 90s.

This is freaking idiotic. Foley says the last time he was in the Impact Zone he was fired. Wasn’t he there last week and like, not fired? Dreamer is called a great ambassador for wrestling and how he was always asked to come to TNA. He says Joe is like Taz used to be. So Joe is going to start talking about pigeons later on?

Dreamer talks about them bringing back ECW and how he hated it. He hated what ECW became and how this isn’t an invasion or them taking over. This is about people losing their jobs…despite none of these guys other than Dreamer having a damn thing to do with WWECW. Dreamer wants one more night and says this will have NOTHING to do with TNA. Dixie says you can have your one night and Dreamer says WE’RE GOING EXTREME to end it.

Kane is world champion. Let that sink in for a minute. We also get the beginning of the road to Summerslam here. Let’s get to it. I know the intros to TV are shorter but there’s far less context needed for these especially since the previous week is all the context you need for the most part. Now, let’s get to it.

No pre-theme song video this week. I think I like that.

We immediately see a still of Kane holding up the belt and THE CHAMP IS HERE! DAMN that belt looks good on him. I’m a huge Kane fan so this is incredibly sweet for me. He talks about how he won MITB and won the title. You can tell he’s loving this and with the theme music just barely playing in the background it’s perfect. He’s talking very slowly here and it’s a very good promo. Kane repeatedly shouts I DID IT which likely is going to be a line later on for Taker. He says he did it for his brother and a quick Taker video plays, highlighting them being the awesome brothers. He goes on this insane rant about how he’ll vindicate his brother and that he’ll have his vengeance. This was a very good promo overall and it showed a lot of emotions at once, which is something Kane is finally getting to show. The belt makes it even better. Loved this.

Swagger vs. Rey in a 2/3 falls match for the shot at Kane at Summerslam.

We recap Christian and Matt having issues lately, leading to this.

Christian/Matt Hardy vs. Drew McIntyre/Cody Rhodes

I like the heels here more than the faces, yet one of the faces is an IWC darling. I’m a very strange case here I guess. Christian and Drew start us off and we talk about Kane. I love how messed up their backstory has become, as now they were friends growing up. Yeah it’s going to be one of those matches where they talk about nothing but the main angle for at least the first half of this match.

I like Rhodes more and more every time I see him. Matt’s lower body is hurt according to Striker. Rhodes without knee or elbow pads is weird looking. Future Shock doesn’t hit on Matt and the faces stand tall for a bit. Rhodes uses an Alabama Jam and Striker makes a Hardcore Holly reference. Cool reference but a shame that it was Bobby Eaton that used that move.

Striker keeps mentioning all of these old school moves which is kind of cool. I love the old school style so it’s nice to see it back a bit. Hardy takes off his shirt and his ribs are taped up. Striker uses improper grammar and gets corrected by Grisham in an almost funny moment. Matt gets the lukewarm tag and takes over for a bit. We hit insanity time and Matt hits Christian by mistake. Big boot from McIntyre ends Hardy. Christian and Matt shake hands afterwards.

Swagger thinks this isn’t fair because of what Rey did. And we get a lie, cheat and steal reference. Well what would this be without an Eddie reference?

Alberto Del Rio stuff.

Laycool have a party about Layla winning on Sunday. Michelle in white pants is just awesome. They give each other half of a necklace that says best friends. Teddy comes in and makes Layla vs. Tiffany next week. Oh joy. This is supposed to be scary? They make fun of Teddy after he leaves which is kind of funny.

Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler

We go to the mat first as both guys are again hurt. Kofi has a bad neck and Drew has a bad arm. There’s a lot of dead time on commentary here and there has been all night. It’s a bit weird. Striker brings up a very interesting point as he says if the referee is supposed to count to five and the crowd gets to seven, shouldn’t that be a DQ?

McGillicutty and Vickie get in an argument on the floor and Michael gets thrown out. After a break we come back to Kofi in a chinlock to the amazement of no one that pays attention. Ziggler uses a ton of chinlocks and none of them are overly interesting. Kofi has been dominated for most of this match. Here’s his comeback but nothing really comes from it.

Kofi just starts whaling on him and does his jumping offense. A jumping punch is called a Superman Punch, but I don’t ever remember him doing that in a comic book. Nor do I remember him being a black man from Africa. Trouble in Paradise misses and here’s Vickie to be annoying. Zig Zag sets up the sleeper which ends it. Can we get rid of Vickie and give Dolph the IC Title? He tries to leave with the belt but the referee takes it from him.

We recap Punk getting unmasked last week which was a cool segment.

Big Show vs. Luke Gallows

And we’re getting Show vs. the mystery man instead.

Big Show vs. Masked Man

Show has gone from 7’0 to 7’5 apparently. Show rips the mask off about a minute in. And it’s Joey Mercury who no one recognizes. Show puts the mask on and the punch basically kills Mercury. 2 minute squash and we get a Machines reference!!! Well at least they killed this off and it’ll set up Show vs. Punk when he’s healthy.

Cody shows us how to trim our nose hairs. I like the old school character-themed vignettes like these.

Raw recap to waste some time.

Rey misses being world champion and that he needs to beat Swagger twice. Why hurt a guy’s credibility twice in a week when you can do it three times I guess?

Damn it just debut this fucker already so he can be the next Escobar.

Rey Mysterio vs. Jack Swagger

2/3 falls and winner gets Kane at Summerslam. Bets on Rey winning anyone? This is getting 25 minutes? Well ok then. Rey puts him on the floor a minute or so in and I would think that’s a commercial break. Ah that’s because it is. Swagger gets a NICE rolling headlock style move that looks like something an amateur champion would do. Rey’s ankle is hurt. I wonder if he’ll overcome the odds.

Basically Swagger keeps Rey down with basic stuff and just hurts him. It’s a cool kind of beatdown as he’s picking him apart instead of going at him full speed ahead. Rey gets a springboard crossbody to get a fast two and takes over. There’s the ankle lock though but Rey makes the ropes. Jack won’t break it and that’s 1-0 Rey on a DQ.

Ok so remember: Rey came in with a bad ankle and has had it worked on for over ten minutes and he was in an ankle lock that made Big Show tap. SURE he can go off the top with a rana and go for 619. Rey taps after being caught in the 619 to the ankle lock to tie us up though.

Vader Bomb gets two and Swagger is pissed. Rey grabs his ankle and then runs the ropes. He gets out of the gutwrench and hooks a crucifix to end it. Well of course he does. Yep, Rey vs. Kane is the main event at Summerslam. Oh and pay no attention to it being a leverage move and Swagger having to roll completely backwards to get into the proper position because Rey rolled the wrong way.

Swagger goes for the ankle again and Kane makes the save to end the show. And then he comes back to go after Rey who hits the 619 because Rey is perfectly capable of beating up a fresh Kane after a 25 minute match on a bad ankle. Great way to make the champion look strong on his first night guys.